LAS CRUCES - The vice chairwoman for the state Democratic Party of New Mexico sent a letter Monday to the party chairman alleging "inappropriate sexual misconduct" against her by Doña Ana County Commissioner John Vasquez.

Vasquez, however, responded Tuesday to the Sun-News, saying he's not aware of any of his actions toward the party's vice chairwoman, Neomi Martinez-Parra of Lordsburg, that would rise to the level of sexual misconduct. He alleged the letter is an attempt to slander him because of a much-publicized Facebook controversy in recent weeks.

In the Feb. 12 letter obtained by the Sun-News, Martinez-Parra of Lordsburg notes Vasquez has been accused of "various inappropriate behavior towards females," including online remarks made to Johana Bencomo, a Las Cruces activist.

Bencomo has alleged Vasquez broke Doña Ana County code-of-conduct rules last month in a widely condemned social media outburst against her on Facebook. Protesters gathered before Tuesday's county commission meeting to condemn Vasquez, and another county official, for their treatment of women. Martinez-Parra's allegation wasn't heavily publicized until later Tuesday and did not seem to be a part of the protesters' concerns.

Martinez-Parra, in Monday's letter, suggests she'll take possible legal action, though against whom is unclear. The Sun-News couldn't reach her for comment Tuesday. She also implied she was unhappy with the state Democratic party chair's response to her allegations

"I too have been a victim of Mr. Vasquez's inappropriate sexual misconduct, which I will address separately through my legal counsel," she wrote to state Democratic Party Chairman Richard Ellenberg.

However, Martinez-Parra doesn't delve into specifics about her allegation against Vasquez, who until a recent resignation, was active at the state level as chairman of the Democratic Party's veterans caucus. It remains unclear if Martinez-Parra is leveling an allegation of sexual harassment, an allegation of more serious physical sexual misconduct, or both. She states she'll follow up the first letter with a "separate letter of complaint against Mr. Vasquez" regarding the alleged misconduct.

Vasquez responds

Vasquez said Tuesday that Martinez-Parra had never approached him with any concerns and the first he was learning about the allegation was from media, which he argued is unfair. As for alleged "sexual misconduct," Vasquez said the term sounds like it requires a police report, not a letter to the political party. He said he's done nothing to merit that allegation.

"Why doesn't she go to the cops, if it's misconduct?" he said.

Vasquez said he thinks an incident Martinez-Parra may be referring to stems from a 2016 text he'd sent to her on behalf of a friend who wanted to know if she was single.

"I think for her to label it as 'sexual misconduct' is way overboard," he said. "I relayed the message to her, and that was it. The bigger question would be, why now? Why in 2018? If she had a problem, why didn't she come to me then? Why didn't she bring it up somewhere during that conversation? I don't understand where she's getting 'sexual misconduct.' I'd say it's totally inappropriate for her to make those allegations."

Vasquez said he recently saw Martinez-Parra at a political function, but she hadn't raised any concerns to him. He said he hasn't been in a situation in which he was alone with her.

"It's always been in a public setting," he said. "All I can say is that over these Facebook texts (to Bencomo) — I think this is an attempt to smear my name. They want me to resign from the county central committee, which is a Democrat function. Unless she has some kind of proof, she's probably going to get sued."

Vasquez said he'll consult with an attorney about his options.

"I have every intention of suing the Democratic Party of New Mexico," he said.

State party chair replies

Martinez-Parra wrote to Ellenberg that she notified him she'd been "subjected to Mr. Vasquez's unwanted sexual behavior towards me," before Vasquez resigned as veterans caucus chair.

Martinez-Parra claims Ellenberg's response was a proposed "something for something," a suggestion that "Mr. Vasquez would resign if I did not pursue a complaint against him (Vasquez)."

Ellenberg, in a statement to the Sun-News, said he received Martinez-Parra's letter on Monday night.

"John Vasquez resigned earlier this month from his chairmanship of the DPNM Veterans Caucus in response to allegations of inappropriate behavior, including recent egregious and disrespectful posts on Facebook," Ellenberg said in a statement. "DPNM fully supports and encourages victims of harassment — including our vice chair — to come forward, report their experiences, and hold officials accountable for their actions."

Continued Ellenberg: "I’m grateful that Vice Chair Martinez-Parra is speaking out and if my actions or words gave her any reason to believe otherwise in our conversations on the subject, I sincerely apologize. She deserves and will receive my full support."

Martinez-Parra in her letter asked for Vasquez to be removed "immediately from any and all capacity where he may be representing the party." She said she plans to file a complaint with Doña Ana County manager and County Commission chairman regarding her allegation.

Vasquez said he doesn't agree with everything the Democratic Party says, and "maybe this is their way to force me out." He denied that his resignation from the veterans caucus chair was over an allegation of inappropriate behavior.

"I'm not going to be putting support into an organization if I'm not valued," he said. "And with this whole thing with Facebook came out, it was apparent that the Democratic Party did not support me. So, I said, OK, well, I'm not going to support you in return.

Ellenberg said he looks forward "to working with my fellow DPNM officers and our Rules Committee to create opportunities within our bylaws to hold harassers accountable for their actions."